Many times, our ancestors left clues at the graveside to
show what was important to be remembered about the
deceased. Metal Markers, or symbols inscribed into
the stones themselves, are often clues as to what Social
and Fraternal Organizations they belonged to in life,
and which were parts of their lives that they wanted to
be remembered.

(click photo to enlarge)

Ancient Arabic Order Nobles Mystic Shrine

Shriners International is a
fraternity based on fun, fellowship and the Masonic
principles of brotherly love, relief and truth.
Shriners International supports Shriners Hospitals
for Children®, an international health care system
of 22 hospitals dedicated to improving the lives of
children by providing specialty pediatric care,
innovative research and outstanding teaching
programs. Children up to age 18 with
orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries,
and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care at
Shriners Hospitals for Children® and receive all
services regardless of the patients' ability to pay.

The AOKMC
was founded in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1870. It is
believed to have formed as a splinter group to the
Knights of Pythias. Though it seems to have
been quite popular in PA, it doesn’t seem to have
made much headway outside of that state. Like
most small orders, it did not survive the Great
Depression of the 1930’s. Virtually all jewels,
medals, and pins from this order seem to be found in
Pennsylvania.

The Order of Scottish Clans was a
fraternal and benevolent society founded in St.
Louis, Missouri, on November 30, 1878. The dual
purpose of the Order was to provide life and
disability insurance to Scottish immigrants and
their descendants, and also to preserve the culture
and traditions of Scotland among Americans of
Scottish ancestry.

A fraternal order with nearly a
million members and a 141-year history, a generous
charitable foundation that each year gives millions
in scholarships, an inspiration to youth, a friend
to veterans and more. Our Mission - To inculcate the
principles of Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and
Fidelity; to recognize a belief in God; to promote
the welfare and enhance the happiness of its
Members; to quicken the spirit of American
patriotism; to cultivate good fellowship; to
perpetuate itself as a fraternal organization, and
to provide for its government, the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks of the United States of
America will serve the people and communities
through benevolent programs, demonstrating that Elks
Care and Elks Share.

The object of this Society shall
be Patriotic, Historical and Educational; to
make research as to the history and deeds of the
American colonist and to record and publish the
same; to commemorate deeds of colonial interest;
to inculcate and foster love of America and its
institutions by all its residents; to obey its
laws and venerate its flag—the emblem of its
power and civic righteousness.

The Fraternal Order of
Police is the world's largest organization of sworn
law enforcement officers, with more than 325,000
members in more than 2,100 lodges. We are the voice
of those who dedicate their lives to protecting and
serving our communities. We are committed to
improving the working conditions of law enforcement
officers and the safety of those we serve through
education, legislation, information, community
involvement, and employee representation. No one
knows the dangers and the difficulties faced by
today's police officers better than another officer,
and no one knows police officers better than the FOP

True Masonic ritual, as it always was
intended to do, teaches the great lessons of life:
the importance of honor and integrity, of being a
person on whom others can rely, of being both
trusting and trustworthy, of realizing that you have
a spiritual nature as well as a physical nature, of
the importance of self control, of knowing how to
love and be loved, of knowing how to keep
confidential what others tell you so that they can
"open up" without fear. In short, Masonic ritual
teaches us to reach for a higher standard in
conducting our lives.
Freemasonry has sometimes been referred to as a "secret
society." This is an inaccurate statement.
Freemasons certainly don't make a secret of the fact
that they are members of their Lodges. We wear
rings, lapel pins, and tie clasps with Masonic
emblems like the Square and Compasses, the
best-known of Masonic signs that, logically, recall
our early symbolic roots in stonemasonry. Masonic
buildings are clearly marked and usually listed in
the phone book. The only thing that could be
referred to as "secret" -- although we prefer the
word "private" -- are the methods of recognition
such as grips, words, signs, and our ritual by which
we induct new members.
Over the centuries, Freemasonry has developed into a
worldwide social and community service organization,
emphasizing personal study, self-improvement, and
social betterment via individual involvement and
philanthropy. During the late 1700's, it was one of
the organizations most responsible for spreading the
ideals of the Enlightenment: the dignity of man and
the liberty of the individual, the right of all
persons to worship as they choose, the formation of
democratic governments, and the importance of public
education. Masons supported the first public schools
in both Europe and America.

Here the Right Worshipful Master
calls the candidate's attention to the keystone
before him, by pointing out to him the initials on
the stone, which he is informed read as follows:--
HIRAM, TYRIAN, WIDOW'S SON, SENDETH TO KING
SOLOMON."
(contributed by Rich Boyer)

The National Grange is the
nation's oldest national agricultural
organization. Its provides service to
agriculture and rural areas on a wide variety of
issues, including economic development,
education, family endeavors, and legislation
designed to assure a strong and viable Rural
America. It was formed in the years following
the American Civil War to unite private citizens
in improving the economic and social position of
the nation's farm population. The Grange is also
a fraternal order known as the Order of Patrons
of Husbandry, hence the "P of H" on the
organization's logo.

The original Order of Heptasophs
was founded in 1852 which marks it as one of the
country’s earliest fraternal orders. According
to Axelrod, there may have been predecessor
organizations dating back as far as 1837. The
name is derived from Latin roots meaning seven
and wise and is generally interpreted to mean
seven wise men. The Improved Order of
Heptasophs split off from the original order in
1878. The cause of the split was a disagreement
over whether the order should offer life
insurance. Fraternal orders in the late 1800’s
were increasingly involved in the life insurance
business—their members demanded it—and the IOH
reflected that trend. Like most fraternal life
insurance societies, the IOH would gradually
become less of a fraternity and more of an
insurance company and would lose its fraternal
identity in a series of mergers with other
insurance companies beginning in 1917.

The
fraternity traces its origins back to 1765 and is
descended from the Sons of Liberty. These patriots
concealed their identities and worked "underground"
to help establish freedom and liberty in the early
Colonies. They patterned themselves after the great
Iroquois Confederacy and its democratic governing
body. Their system, with elected representatives to
govern tribal councils, had been in existence for
several centuries.
After the War of 1812 the name was changed to the
Society of Red Men and in 1834 to the Improved Order
of Red Men. They kept the customs and terminology of
Native Americans as a basic part of the fraternity.
The Improved Order of Red Men (IORM) is similar in
many ways to other major fraternal organizations in
the United States.

In 17th century England, it was odd to
find people organized for the purpose of giving aid to
those in need and of pursuing projects for the benefit
of all mankind. Those who belonged to such an
organization were called "Odd Fellows." Odd Fellows are
also known as "The Three Link Fraternity" which stands
for Friendship, Love and Truth. The Independent
Order of Odd Fellows was founded on the North American
Continent in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 26, 1819 when
Thomas Wildey and four members of the Order from England
instituted Washington Lodge No. 1. Odd Fellowship became
the 1st national fraternity to include both men and
women when it adopted the beautiful Rebekah Degree on
September 20, 1851. This degree is based on the
teachings found in the Holy Bible, and was written by
the Honorable Schuyler Colfax who was Vice President of
the United States during the period 1868-1873. Odd
Fellows and Rebekahs were also the first fraternal
organization to establish homes for our senior members
and for orphaned children.

The United American Mechanics was
founded in Philadelphia in 1845 under the name Union
of Workers. It began as a nativist workingmen's
organization to fight against labor pressure from
increasing immigration populations. In 1853 a junior
branch of the organization was founded. The Junior
Order American Mechanics (J.O.U.A.M.) became an
independent society in 1885. Its members were white
males, between the ages of 16 and 50, of good moral
character, believers in the existence of a Supreme
Being, in favor of separation of church and state,
and supporters of free education through the Public
School System. The word "Junior" in the
organization's name had no reference to the age of
its members after 1885 and similarly, the word
"Mechanic" had no relevance to the members'
occupations. The Junior Order defined its objectives
as promoting the interests of Americans by shielding
them from the economically depressing effects of
foreign competition, establishing a Sick and Funeral
Fund and working to maintain the Public School
System.

On Oct. 2, 1881, a group of men met in the basement
of St. Mary’s Church on Hillhouse Avenue in New
Haven, Connecticut. Called together by their
29-year-old parish priest, Father Michael J.
McGivney, these men formed a fraternal society that
would one day become the world’s largest Catholic
family fraternal service organization. They sought
strength in solidarity, and security through unity
of purpose and devotion to a holy cause: they vowed
to be defenders of their country, their families and
their faith. These men were bound together by the
ideal of Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of the
Americas, the one whose hand brought Christianity to
the New World. Their efforts came to fruition with
the incorporation of the Knights of Columbus on
March 29, 1882.

John Emory Burbage founded the
Knights of the Golden Eagle in the city of
Baltimore, MD, February 6, 1873. It was founded with
the objective of cultivating the social, moral and
intellectual feelings of its members and promoting
their welfare in all walks of life; providing
kindness, relief against the trials and distress
attendant upon death and sickness, to aid the
members of the order who are out of work, to provide
for the widows and orphans of deceased members.

The
Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (to
give their full name) were formed long before their
reign on Malta. The Order was originally established
in 1085 as a community of monks responsible for
looking after the sick at the Hospital of St. John
in Jerusalem. They later became a military order,
defending crusader territory in the Holy Lands and
safeguarding the perilous routes taken by medieval
pilgrims. The Knights were drawn exclusively from
noble families and the Order acquired vast wealth
from those it recruited. The Knights came to Malta
in 1530, having been ejected from their earlier home
on Rhodes by the Turks in 1522. Charles V, the Holy
Roman Emperor, gave them the choice of Malta or
Tripoli as a new base. Having chosen Malta, the
Knights stayed for 268 years, transforming what they
called 'merely a rock of soft sandstone' into a
flourishing island with mighty defences and a
capital city coveted by the great powers of Europe.
In 1834, the Order established a new headquarters in
Rome. The Sovereign Military Hospitaller
Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of
Malta, better known as the Sovereign Military Order
of Malta (SMOM), is a Roman Catholic religious
order. Its sovereign status is recognized by
membership in numerous international bodies and
observer status at the United Nations and others.
The Order maintains diplomatic relations with
approximately 100 countries, with numerous
ambassadors. It issues its own passports, currency,
stamps and even vehicle registration plates. The
Grand Master of the Order serves as a Papal Viceroy,
providing Vatican diplomats with procedural support
for making motions, proposing amendments and
requiring votes in the sphere of international
diplomacy. Its claim to sovereign status is
disputed by some

The Order of Knights of Pythias is a great
international fraternity which was founded in
Washington, DC, February 19, 1864, by Justus H.
Rathbone, and embraces more than two thousand
subordinate lodges in the United States and Canada,
with occasional lodges having been formed elsewhere.
The primary object of fraternal organizations is to
promote friendship among men and to relieve
suffering. Each organization adopts some outstanding
principle as its objective. The individuality of an
order is determined by its ideal sentiment. The
distinguishing principles of the Order of Knights of
Pythias are "FRIENDSHIP, CHARITY and BENEVOLENCE".
It bases its lessons and builds it ritual largely on
the familiar story of the friendship of Damon and
Pythias, who were historical characters living about
four hundred or more years before the beginning of
the Christian era.

The Loyal Order of Moose is a fraternal and service
organization founded in 1888, with nearly 800,000
men in roughly 1,800 Lodges, in all 50 states and
four Canadian provinces, plus Great Britain and
Bermuda. Along with other units of Moose
International, the Loyal Order of Moose supports the
operation of Mooseheart Child City & School , a
1,000-acre community for children and teens in need,
located 40 miles west of Chicago; and Moosehaven , a
70-acre retirement community for its members near
Jacksonville, FL. Additionally, Moose Lodges conduct
approximately $50 million worth of community service
(counting monetary donations and volunteer hours
worked) annually. Additionally, the Loyal Order of
Moose conducts numerous sports and recreational
programs, in local Lodges and Family Centers in the
majority of 44 State and Provincial Associations,
and on a fraternity-wide basis.

Variously
known as the Knights (and Ladies) of the Maccabees,
Maccabees of the World, Macabees, Women’s Benefit
Association. The Knights of the Maccabees were a
fraternal and benevolent "legal reserve society."
Families of deceased members received benefits in
the form of legal-reserve insurance. All white
persons of sound health and good character, from
birth to 70 years of age, were eligible for
membership. Their name comes from the Biblical
Maccabees. The order was founded in London, Ontario
in 1878 and reorganized in 1883. Before 1914, it was
known as the Knights of the Maccabees. Subsequent to
1914, it has been simply been called "The Maccabees".
The insurance aspect of the fraternity has always
been paramount. Its fraternal aspect drew on the
exploits of the Jewish military genius Judas
Maccabeus. The Knights of the Modern Maccabees and
The Maccabees of the World have since consolidated
and were known simply as the Maccabees. Their
fraternalism activities ceased to exist in 1962 when
they became a life insurance company.

What It Is: The Order of the Eastern Star is the
largest fraternal organization in the world to which
both women and men may belong. Worldwide, there are
approximately 1 million members under the General
Grand Chapter. Eastern Star is a social order
comprised of persons with spiritual values, but it
is not a religion. Its appeal rests in the true
beauty of the refreshing and character-building
lessons that are so sincerely portrayed in its
ritualistic work.

The Patriotic Order Sons of America
was organized December 10, 1847 to preserve the
Public School System, The Constitution of the United
Sates and our American way of life. It was
incorporated by an Act of the Pennsylvania State
Legislature, February 27, 1867. The Objectives of
the Order are embodied within its Platform of
Principles, and are essentially: to inculcate pure
American Principles; to teach loyalty to American
Institutions; to cultivate fraternal affection; to
oppose foreign interference in State or National
Affairs; to oppose all appropriations of public
moneys for Sectarian Purposes; to maintain and
support the Constitution of the United States of
America; to defend and maintain the American System
of Public Schools; to defend the rights of Men and
Armed Forces; to work as America's foremost Civilian
Patriotic Organization in combating foreign
propaganda and in preventing our participation in
future foreign wars; to work for an adequate Army,
Navy and Air Force, which will command respect of
foreign nations and prevent future war.

The Object of Rotary is to
encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis
of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to
encourage and foster:
FIRST. The development of acquaintance as an
opportunity for service;
SECOND. High ethical standards in business and
professions, the recognition of the worthiness of
all useful occupations, and the dignifying of each
Rotarian's occupation as an opportunity to serve
society;
THIRD. The application of the ideal of service in
each Rotarian's personal, business, and community
life;
FOURTH. The advancement of international
understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world
fellowship of business and professional persons
united in the ideal of service.